Quick Verdict: “Good things come in small packages”
It is not often that I am excited to eat from a Shopping Mall Food Court, but here I am, actually excited! Usually my standard is to conduct the review from inside a restaurant. My figuring is that being closer to the kitchen makes for a better burger, and fairer review. But, after my disappointing dine-in experience in Morapau Pastelaria, I decided to change up the process and decided to order Talho’s burger for take-away. Was that a good choice? Read on to find out
Bun: 17/20
Talho serves all their burgers on a brioche bun. The bun was fresh and tasty, overall an above average bun in terms of taste. The only spot where we can criticize the bun is structure. I always cut a burger in half. When cutting, it really tells you everything about the bun. It was clear that this bun compressed a bit too much through the take-away process. The result was just a bit of soggy and limpness… BUT, only a bit, as the bun remained pretty damn good. Maybe dine-in would have been better for the bun? Surely that will be a possibility explored in a future review of Talho Burger.
Toppings: 17/20
The Bacon Cheese Burger comes appropriately apportioned with both bacon and cheese, I was pleased. The bacon was very flavorful, smokey and a perfect choice to compliment the burger. It would have been nice to have a bit more bacon, but a little of a good thing is still something to celebrate. Where Talho Burger earned extra points with me was with the lettuce and tomato. It is all too common, and a recurring complaint of mine, that Burger Joints use salad from a bag to top their hamburgers. Talho has it right, lettuce should be specifically chosen for burgers, a leaf or two not shreds and bits. The tomato was equally good and the plum varieties, which I always find a good choice for hamburgers.
Condiments: 5/10
Im not sure there were any condiments added to Talho’s Bacon Cheese Burger. Certainly there was nothing detected through the eating of it. Probably I should have checked the condiments but the absence was clear and noted. I would have liked to add a splash of ketchup, BBQ sauce or maybe a pickle? The order had an accompanying mayonnaise based sauce but it lacked enough punch to add flavor to the burger. Maybe the side sauce was for dipping the fries, if I was dining in the wait staff could have answered that for me.
Cheese: 8/10
The American Cheddar Cheese served in this burger is a signature item and was definitely a very good choice. Additionally, the cheese was also expertly prepared. Check out the photos and note how well it is melted at the sides and evenly distributed throughout the burger. There was no bite of this burger that did not have cheese. While the cheese absolutely looked the part and complimented the bacon flavor nicely, it ultimately proved underwhelming in this burger. And I criticize with much respect, as you can see, the cheese scored quite high with an 8. But, the cheese did underwhelm a bit against so many strong and quality flavors and components to this burger. Maybe adding a second slice would have balanced things out, or a smokier selection?
Beef: 19/20
The absolute star of the show was the 100% beef patty. I am curious what country the meat comes from and the grade and will ask on my next trip to Talho, but the end effect was impressive and the chef deserves much credit. What really blew my mind was the preparation. Check the photos for verification, that burger was medium rare and the most elusive of qualities to find in a restaurant cooked burger. In my home country, Canada, it is prohibited to serve a medium rare burger! Acceptable food preparation standards in Canada require a cooked burger to be a full 8 degrees hotter than the threshold for medium rare. In my humble opinion, burgers are best prepared medium rare and juicy… so it was a thrill to cut this baby open and see the deep pink that only comes in fresh beef cooked to perfection. The only, ONLY shortcoming of this patty was size. While not quite slider-sized, this patty and overall burger was modestly proportioned. Don’t think I would double stack this patty, because the entire burger was well balanced and that would throw it out of whack but bigger would have been better. For certain, I will explore Talho Burger’s menu and hope there is a “Biggie Sized” option for me to tackle.
Taste: 17/20
Overall taste was good though overpowered by the flavourfulness of beef. The tomato and lettuce attempted the job of evening out the flavors combinations but in the end the patty was so amazing, it was an ask just too big. There is such quality in the ingredients, one cannot be disappointed but to please my personal tastes I will try other burger options, hoping to find the perfect match for their beef patty.
Verdict: 83/100
Talho Burger definitely scores big by coming through with an excellent little burger. I am impressed and unreservedly can recommend Talho to others. It is a rare thing that the biggest complaints of a burger are too much flavor in the patty and not enough of the burger. This Bacon Cheese Burger emphatically left me wanting more of a good thing and reminded of the old adage that, “good things come in small packages”
